I'm getting on my soapbox (Sorry, I've been away a while)

I listen to a lot of Doctor Who podcasts. I follow a lot of Doctor Who fans on Twitter. I've even started reading quite a few blogs of folk who like Doctor Who. For the most part, the people I choose to follow and read either agree with me a lot, or where we disagree, the difference in opinions is polite and well thought out.

Somehow, though, I still seem to get exposed to a lot of negativity. Particularly negativity regarding Steven Moffat. Much of it is second or third hand, but it's definitely out there.

He's ruining the show. He's not focused enough on it. He writes women badly. He uses puerile humour. He's a one trick pony. Blah blah blah.

Well nobody is perfect.

I adore Steven Moffat's work on Doctor Who.

I started watching the show in late 2008 after discovering Torchwood and wanting more of Captain Jack Harkness. forever_bright brought around her box sets and the very first episode I watched of Doctor Who was The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. I was hooked. I mainlined all four seasons over the next 6 months. At the time I wasn't actually aware of who Steven Moffat was. But by pure coincidence, each and every season my very favourite stories were the ones he wrote, something I didn't realise for a long time.

Then I found out that he was taking over the show. Who was this guy? I was worried about the loss of Tennant, but when I researched Steven Moffat I was stunned. I loved every single one of his stories. At least I could trust the writer. Somewhere around this point I picked up the first season of Sherlock, purely on the strength of the sticker on the front that said 'created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss'. Again, hooked in an instant.

And then The Eleventh Hour hit and I swept up in the madness and pure brilliance of the Elventh Doctor and genius fairytale adventure that Steven Moffat was taking us on.

In my opinion, of all the Doctor Who episodes Steven Moffat has written, only The Beast Below and The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe don't absolutely shine in my memory. I still enjoy them both, though.

But let's look at a wider audience, yeah?

The Hugo Awards have a category for Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form. Since the 2006 awards (which covered work produced in 2005), out of 8 awards given in this category, Doctor Who won 6 times. Of those 6 wins, 4 were awarded to Steven Moffat penned stories (The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl In The Fireplace, Blink, The Big Bang/The Pandorica Opens). Only once in that time was Steven Moffat not nominated for Doctor Who, being the 2010 awards as he did not write any of the 2009 specials.

In 2013 Steven Moffat episodes came 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively to Game of Thrones: Blackwater. In 2012 A Good Man Goes To War came 3rd behind 2 other Doctor Who episodes. In 2009 The Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead came 2nd to Doctor Horrible's Singalong Blog.

This year, I have no doubt that Moffat will be on the ballot again. I'll certainly be nominating. Along with a couple of thousand other hard core SF/F fans. After all, you have to be a paid up member of WorldCon to vote. It's not just a random online poll.

Steven Moffat created the alien that freaks me out - The Weeping Angels - and makes the ordinary scary.

Steven Moffat gave me River Song - a woman Who could go toe to toe with the Doctor and win the argument.

Steven Moffat isn't afraid to play with time, something that a show about a time travelling alien seems to have done rarely in the past.

Steven Moffat does the unexpected, making me shriek in surpise.

Steven Moffat writes memorable, quotable dialogue that I use in every day life.

Steven Moffat creates mysteries that make my brain hurt, but seeds the clues so that it makes sense in the end (to me, anyway).

Steven Moffat gave me MY Doctor.

Steven Moffat has made me laugh.

Steven Moffat has made me cry.

Steven Moffat has given me Doctor Who that I will watch over and over and love to pieces.

If you don't like it, that's fine. But there are a lot of us out here that love it. Please don't taint that with mindless, nasty bile.